Jackie Chan and John Cena Teaming Up For Project X

Screen Rant

Jackie Chan and John Cena Are Actually About to Team Up

By Kelli Catana

Published Jun 13, 2018

Jackie Chan and John Cena are joining forces for a film known as Project X, which was previously the Stallone vehicle Ex-Baghdad.

There's a new action movie duo in town, and it may not be who you were expecting, but that doesn't make it any less exciting. Iconic action star Jackie Chan is teaming up with WWE wrester turned actor John Cena in a new action thrilled tentatively titled Project X. Cena will be replacing Sylvester Stallone who was originally slated to star opposite Chan.

While it may have at one time seemed far fetched to have the 16 time WWE champ replace an action legend like Stallone, Cena is quickly becoming one of Hollywood's most in demand actors. Not only is Cena clearly capable of being a believable action star, but he's also shown off his comedic chops in movies like Sisters, Trainwreck and most recently, Blockers. While Stallone was once a guaranteed box office draw, it seems that Cena will be able to fill his shoes just fine.

Project X, a working title for the movie formerly titled Ex-Baghdad, will be directed by Need for Speed's Scott Waugh and was written by Arash Amel. Chan's character is a Chinese private security contractor who needs to extract Chinese oil workers from a refinery in the Middle East when the China-run refinery comes under attack. When Chan discovers it's all an elaborate scheme to steal millions in oil, he teams up with Cena, who will play an American former Marine, in an attempt to thwart the bad guys (via THR). Chan is also set to produce.

While Chan has been an action movie staple for decades, Cena is quickly becoming one of Hollywood's most bankable new stars. In addition to his starring role in this year's comedy hit Blockers, Cena will star in the Transformers spinoff movie Bumblebee. He'll also be headlining the upcoming The Janson Directive from Universal Pictures, replacing Dwayne Johnson, as well as landing the lead in the Duke Nukem movie. As Cena's pro wrestling career seems to be coming to an end, his acting career seems to be picking up steam.

While Stallone has yet to give a reason for leaving the project, Cena as a replacement seems like a solid decision. Many would have loved to see two legends like Stallone and Chan, who have yet to star alongside each other, team up in an action flick, but Cena seems like he'll be able to fill Stallone's shoes just fine.

Project X is set to begin filming this summer in China.

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Source: The Hollywood Reporter